Asking for a Miracle
by Ariyah
Summary: Kelsey considers her two near-deaths and struggles with her countless unanswered questions. She seeks healing by her friend's hospital bedside... and unexpectedly finds it. One-shot, extreme background character pov. By Ariel of Narnia.


**Disclaimer:** I may have explored the character of a movie (and novelization) extra, but she and her more prevalent friend belong to Sherwood Pictures.

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The wall was splashed with a dancing rainbow of colour. The windowsill was the source of a heavy, but sweet smell. The shine of the floor was no match for the sparkles emitted from various points in the room. The only sound other than the blips and beeps of towering equipment came from the iPod on the side table, but even that was turned down low.

Kelsey tried to compose herself with a few deep breaths. In, out. In… and out…. She squared her shoulders – taking great care not to jar her arm on the doorway – and walked in. She was very nearly tangled in web of curly balloon ribbons at the same time that she noticed that the scent of flowers increased at every step. She used her one good arm to lift a stuffed bear out of the chair she then proceeded to occupy. The late morning sun gleamed on cellophane and bright foil wrappers almost to the point of blinding her. Only one thing in the room was unaffected by its surroundings.

Bethany.

Kelsey stared at her friend's slumbering face. Or rather, _toward_: her vision was too blurred to really look _at_ Bethany. In. Out. In. Out. She forced the tears back. Bethany's face wasn't exactly peaceful – at least, not what Kelsey would consider blissfully peaceful. She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that at least half of Bethany's sleep was drug-induced.

Since she refused to let her emotions come out through her eyes, Kelsey opened her mouth and allowed a long, shaky sigh out. Sitting here at her friend's bedside, she wondered at how she'd complained about her own pains. Little things, relatively speaking. And if she hurt, well, she couldn't imagine what it was like for Bethany. After all, Bethany had borne the brunt of it. And worse, she'd been conscious for the whole thing. Kelsey knew she had reasons to be thankful. Thankful that her own injuries weren't as awful as they could have been. Thankful that she'd blacked out early on – she rubbed the bruise on her neck ruefully. Thankful that she hadn't been awake when they almost hadn't been rescued. Seriously, even thankful to be _alive_ considering they – she and Bethany both – had nearly shaken hands with death. Twice. Within about fifteen minutes or something like that.

Trembling, she reached her cast-encased arm over the railing and took Bethany's hand. Funny, she'd come to comfort her friend, but instead found that _she_ needed that healing touch.

Two times. She'd almost died _two times_. Kelsey studied her friend's hot pink nails, the result of her last visit a couple days ago. The day before the operation. The day she was aware of Bethany's third look at death. Okay, so the third time wasn't anywhere near as drastic as the first two, but gangrene had set into one of Bethany's legs and…. Kelsey was no doctor, but she knew enough about infections to know that they were anything but pretty.

How either of them were still alive to tell about it was beyond her.

Luck. A destiny yet to fulfill. Maybe Fate took a day off – or what this Fate's doing? Perhaps the planets had been aligned just right. Or maybe, _just_ maybe…. A part of her noted that the iPod had shuffled to another song – something about Somebody being "already there" and "waiting on the other side" or whatever.

Could _God_ have had something to do with it?

Kelsey hadn't really bothered to think about God before the accident – after all, He didn't seem to show any particular interest in her problems. But then, she'd never really bothered to think about death beforehand either. And after two close encounters, she had more questions then she cared to count.

That God would pay any attention to her was a weird, almost mystical idea. He certainly hadn't till – _possibly_ – now. Though Bethany never shoved her religion at anybody – one of the reasons Kelsey liked hanging out with her –, Kelsey was sure that her friend would say that God was protecting them or had a plan for them or something. Yeah, right. If God was protecting them, He would have prevented Bethany from racing or He at least would have magically kept the collision from happening. Instead, He'd let them roll to a stop where they had; thank goodness for the firefighters who'd dragged them off the train tracks! And if He had a so-called "plan", what about the stump that now represented Bethany's left leg? Or for that matter, the crash?

The fight drained out in a sigh as she gently squeezed Bethany's fingers and stared at the empty portion of the sheets. She knew they should have died that day. Maybe it would have even been a good thing if they had – or at least if she had, anyway. Life as she knew it was bad enough. Bethany was a good person; she didn't even deserve to be as hurt as she had been. But Kelsey? The broken arm wasn't enough. And yet, Bethany was the one most affected. Life wasn't fair.

She subconsciously perked up as the iPod switched to a song that more or less resonated with her. Maybe it was because the people in the song were just so broken and lost. Maybe it was because the last verse returned those people to hope – dare she even say a happy ending?

Kelsey wondered if God – if He did exist – was interested in deals. Maybe she'd at least consider His existence if she went home and found that her parents had reached some sort of resolution. Maybe she'd look into it if Bethany's leg grew back or something. Maybe she'd even believe if He sent some sort of spectacular sign, like He supposedly did in the Bible. A burning bush that talked or a massive storm out of nowhere or a hand writing on the wall. The thought of a disembodied hand creeped her out and she decided to scratch that off the list of options.

She vented out a growl of frustration. Quietly, of course, so as not to awaken Bethany. She knew, deep down in her heart of hearts, that she wouldn't really believe any sign she asked for. Everything could be explained by science. Everything.

_Except_ her narrow escapes. Could it be that those themselves were the spectacular signs she was looking for? She scoffed it off, but still she wondered. Would it give her peace to acknowledge that her survival was a miracle? That God might have been watching over them after all?

She ached for rest from all her questions. The burn of longing for Bethany's state of calm over the outcome begged to be eased. Uncertainty throbbed cruelly and she just wished it would end. Looking at her friend's face again, a simple gold cross pendant sparkled in the sunlight and caught her eye.

The song neared its conclusion and Kelsey suddenly found herself singing along with the last line:

"Lord above, I need a miracle."

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**Author's Note: **The first song referenced was Casting Crowns' "Already There" and the second was Third Day's "I Need a Miracle". The latter inspired this piece.

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